Types of Nursing Home Abuse

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), almost two million people aged 65 or above are currently residents of more than 16,000 nursing homes operating in the United States. With such a large number of residents, nursing homesare witnessing a significant rise in abuse and neglect cases.Many residents fall victim to abuse by care takers and other staff members of the nursing home facility.

 The following are the types of nursing home abuse:

Physical abuse

Infliction of physical harm on a nursing home resident, such as slapping, punching, kicking, and the use of excessive restraint,are some forms of physical abuse. The withholding of prescribed medications, or the administration of prohibited medications, may also be considered as physical abuse.

Some common signs of physical abuse may include:

•          Broken bones
•          Bruises
•          Unexplained cuts
•          Marks from ropes
•          Internal injuries or bleeding

Emotional abuse

Any deliberate causing of anxiety, anguish or fear or any spoken communication that intentionally causes an elder unreasonable emotional stress can be considered abuse.

Some common signs of emotional abuse may include:

•          Being non-communicative or non-responsive
•          Being unreasonably upset or agitated
•          Display of unusual behaviour

Financial abuse

Financial abuse is the improper or illegal use of assets or property of an elder. Forgery of an elder’s signature, taking cash from the elder, signing the elder’s checks, coercing him/her to sign a document, stealing his/her possessions or money all constitute financial abuse.

Some common signs of financial abuse may include:

•          Unexpected inclusion of the caregiver’s name on the elder’s bank account
•          Unexpected withdrawals of account funds
•          Unexpected credit card charges
•          A lot of unpaid bills

Sexual abuse

Any sexual contact with a person who is not able to provide consent can also be termed as sexual abuse. Unwanted touching, sexual assault, coerced nudity, sodomy, intercourse or taking pictures of the individual when they are nude are some forms of sexual abuse.

Some common signs of sexual abuse may include:

•          Unexplained genital infections
•          Bruises on the breasts or genitals
•          Bleeding from the anus or vagina
•          Stained, bloody or torn underwear